Storms -n- Such

Another storm series is getting ready to smash into the coast. We'd lost our power; regained it....now, it looks like we might lose it again. So in between these blasts, there's a lot of scurrying around. Quick trip to the market, to the laundromat....grab some nice hot coffee before it's the last you might have for a while.

And, I'm wondering....should I be concerned that the KATU news truck has decided to set up it's crew to capture the "big storm story," right outside my window? What don't I know?

A part of me is tempted to feel a bit smug; as if I'm some kind of seasoned coastal-lubber. I mean, the first storm's 40 mph sustaining winds (see, sustaining winds, a very nautical term) and 70 mph gusts were just child's play. Even though those first raging howls literally sent me under the covers, it was the next storm, with 60-70 mph sustaining winds (and I mean, sustaining, as in, ALL DAY) and 90 mph gusts, that determined whether I was going to be a weak-kneed land-lubber and scramble for the nearest exit out of town, or earn my muck-gear as a true storm-blasted resident. More than once I bolted up bug-eyed, clutching covers, positioning pillows to protect my head in case things came crashing in.

It's un-nerving how a house breathes. It kind of knows how to let air in, and out; how the windows don't really rattle, but contract and expand in sighs and groans. And the eaves....they actually sing in melodious whistles - if you can hear them in between the screaming blasts. The part of me that rode this out, that finally fell asleep during the howls, that geared-up the following morning to beach-comb the debris in between tides, that part of me wants to thump my chest.

And then, there's the other part of me that's keeping an eye on the KATU truck. What don't I know about these coastal storms? Probably plenty.